antepenult
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of antepenult
1575–85; < Latin ( syllaba ) antepaenultima the second (syllable) from the last, feminine of antepaenultimus standing before the penult. See ante-, penult
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The accent must fall on the penult, if it was long, otherwise on the antepenult of the word.
From The Common People of Ancient Rome Studies of Roman Life and Literature by Frank Frost Abbott
Words of more than two syllables ending in cate, date, gate, fy, tude, and ty preceded by a vowel usually accent the antepenult, as dep′recate, etc.
From The Art Of Writing & Speaking The English Language Word-Study and Composition & Rhetoric by Sherwin Cody
Unfortunately the music of the chorus was moulded on the Italian text, and each verse ended with the accent on the antepenult, which occurs frequently in German and Italian, but never in French.
From Musical Memories by Edwin Gile Rich
Most words ending in eal accent the antepenult, but ide′al and hymene′al are exceptions.
From The Art Of Writing & Speaking The English Language Word-Study and Composition & Rhetoric by Sherwin Cody
The accent of Hyperion is properly on the penult, which is long in quantity, but the English poets, with rare exceptions, have thrown it back upon the antepenult.
From Select Poems of Thomas Gray by Robert Carruthers
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
